Midterms: Trump admin seeks SC order to hold 20,000 California ballots over citizenship

The Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to intervene in a dispute over approximately 20,000 mail ballots in California, arguing that votes cast by people suspected of not being US citizens should be kept aside until their eligibility can be verified.The emergency appeal was filed on Monday, a day before the midterm elections, AP reported.It followed an appeals court decision rejecting the administration's request to set aside the ballots, which belong to voters whose citizenship status the federal government has questioned.The Justice Department has argued that California should prevent the disputed ballots from being counted until officials establish whether the voters are eligible. State authorities have challenged the reliability of the federal government's list, saying it is likely to include many US citizens.The dispute centres on the administration's efforts to identify suspected noncitizen voters, even though such cases are rare.